Death of Noramfaizul Mohd Nor

Death of Noramfaizul Mohd Nor
Death of Noramfaizul Mohd Nor
Part of the Horn of Africa conflicts
Mogadishu is in Somalia
Mogadishu is in Somalia
Mogadishu
Location Mogadishu, Somalia
Date 2 September 2011
Death(s) 1
Injured 1

The death of Noramfaizul Mohd Nor is about the first journalist from Malaysia to be fatally injured while on a dangerous assignment abroad.[1] The attack occurred on 2 September 2011 in Mogadishu, Somalia, while Noramfaizul was reporting for Bernama TV on a humanitarian mission organized by the Islamic charity Kelab Putera 1Malaysia.[2] He was killed by a high-caliber bullet fired by a sniper, while traveling in convoy back to its base at the airport.[3][4][5]

Contents

Background

Following the 2011 East Africa drought, various humanitarian organizations were mobilized and efforts were made in response to the famine in the Horn of Africa region. With an estimated population of 9.3 million people,[6] the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that four million Somalis would require some type of humanitarian assistance.[7] The relief efforts were complicated by a civil war in Somalia. The African Union created the African Union Mission in Somalia peacekeeping force to separate the transitional government forces of Somalia from the al-Shabaab insurgents. The mission became embroiled in the Somali Civil War and the Battle of Mogadishu, which had begun in August 2010.

In September 2011, Islamic charity Kelab Putera 1Malaysia, also known as Putera 1Malaysia Club, mobilized humanitarian efforts to support the people located in the coastal Benadir region. A refugee crisis occurred as Somalis fled seeking relief. Noramfaizul Mohd Nor, journalist and camera operator with Bernama, Malaysia's national news agency was assigned to report on these efforts and ensuing mêlée.

Noramfaizul Mohd Nor

Prior to joining Bernama TV, he worked for the National Film of Malaysia, and later Metrovision as a camera operator. While at National Film, he was assigned an aerial photography task and declined to do the job when other camera operators volunteered. The plane ended up crashing and killed the pilot and two cameramen. He then left Filem Negara for Metrovision.[8]

Noramfaizul worked for Bernama as a camera operator since 2002.[1] Bernama is the Malaysia's national news agency and is headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He worked for Bernama TV when it began as a separate service in 2008. Following his death, Noramfaizul is survived by his wife and two sons.[9][Full citation needed]

Incident

Location of attack in K-4 intersection

At the time of the incident, Noramfaizul was traveling with other journalists, back to their base at the airport. While stopped at the busy Kilometer Four intersection in the capital city of Mogadishu, Noramfaizul was fatally injured when he was shot by a high-caliber bullet, fired by an unknown sniper.[10] Aji Saregar Mazlan, a camera operator for TV3 (Malaysia), was sitting to the left of Noramfaizul in the vehicle and was injured in the same incident.[11] The team had been scheduled to travel home on the following weekend.[10] It was initially reported, though unproven, that African Union troops were involved.[10]

The Associated Press reported that the African Union Mission in Somalia was investigating whether its peacekeeping forces had shot at the vehicle that carried the two Malaysian television journalists.[12] An eyewitness in the same vehicle with Noramfaizul and Aji wrote an article for Bernama that said he saw AMISOM vehicles pass them after hearing shots.[13][Full citation needed] The Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman said the shot originated from neither the transitional government forces nor the Al-Shabaab insurgents.[14] As a result, the Committee to Protect Journalists called on the African Union to investigate and to protect humanitarian missions.[15]

Impact

Noramfaizul was the first Malaysian journalist to die in a conflict zone.[1] As a result, he received a hero's burial in Malaysia. According to his colleague Khairulanuar Yahaya, Noramfaizul had covered three other humanitarian missions to Gaza, Pakistan and New Zealand for Bernama.[16][Full citation needed]

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) lists Noramfaizul as the 35th journalist confirmed killed while reporting in Somalia since 1992, while it notes that two reporters during that period are still unconfirmed. According to the same source, the deadliest year in Somalia during that period was 2009 when nine journalists were killed.[17]

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) released this statement about Noramfaizul's death: “He joins the long list of journalists killed in the course of their work in Somalia, Africa’s deadliest country for media personnel with 23 killed since 2007.”[cite this quote] By RSF’s count, it includes the two journalists unconfirmed by CPJ.[18][Full citation needed]

In response to controversy in Malaysia over Noramfaizul’s death in a dangerous country, the Human Resources Ministry of Malaysia announced it would work with media to develop guidelines for media personnel who work in high risk areas. Noramfaizul's death was cause for controversy in Malaysia because people questioned whether the Putera 1Malaysia Club had adequately warned the 55 people in the mission, which included volunteers, doctors, air force personnel and media workers, about the dangers and whether journalists were being adequately protected while reporting in dangerous situations.[19]

A spokesperson for the International Federation of Journalists said, "It is simply unacceptable for an employer to send a media worker to Somalia, which is known as one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists, without proper training and equipment." [20]

Reactions

Press response

UNESCO, which frequently comments on the dangers facing journalists worldwide, has not issued a public statement about the killing of Noramfaizul in Somalia.

Datuk Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, president of the Putera 1Malaysia Club, said, "His death will be recorded in the Bernama’s annals as a selfless and heroic sacrifice of a true professional not only in the course of his duty but also in the genuine pursuit of humanitarian value."[21]

Datuk Yong Soo Heong, editor-in-chief at Bernama, said, "This is a huge loss for Bernama because he was a committed person and never neglected his duty. He had always shown a high level of professionalism in his work."[22][Full citation needed]

Passengers

Tan Su Lin, a journalist for Astro Awani was sitting in front of Noramfaizul on the front, right-hand corner of the four-wheel-drive vehicle. She remembered this about her colleague, "I always (emphasis from original) teased him and called him ketua darjah (class monitor) as he had a way of keeping everyone in line. I didn't expect it to end this way."[23]

Also sitting in the front seat in the middle between the driver (left) and Tan (right) was TV journalist Khairulanuar Yahaya. He has so far said that he cannot believe his fellow worker at Bernama TV was killed.

Melissa Ong, TV journalist from NTV7, sat in the same vehicle with Noramfaizul when he was shot. She was positioned in the back seat to the left of Aji (middle) and Noramfaizul (far right). Ong shared this about Noramfaizul, "Our last memory of him was the laughter we shared in the car before the short journey back to our hostel. I will always treasure that. I believe Abang Faizul would want us to continue our good work in Somalia and I would like to return to set up an IDP camp in his honour." [24] "Abang" is a respectful, affectionate term, which means "older brother."[citation needed]

Public

Noramfaizul was given a hero's burial at Universiti Putra Malaysia’s Muslim cemetery in Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia, which is outside of Kuala Lumpur.[25] In Malaysia, a t-shirt was made as a memorial keepsake that read, "Noramfaizul anda wira kami," which is translated, "Noramfaizul, you are our hero" with "Bernama TV" above the pocket area of the shirt.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ a b c "First media rep to die overseas". Nst.com.my. http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/7medd/Article/art_print. Retrieved 2011-09-24. 
  2. ^ "Putera 1Malaysia Club to bring back 11 Somalian orphans | Malay Mail Online". Mmail.com.my. 2011-09-01. http://mmail.com.my/content/81360-putera-1malaysia-club-bring-back-11-somalian-orphans. Retrieved 2011-09-24. 
  3. ^ Noramfaizul Mohd. "Noramfaizul Mohd - Journalists Killed - Committee to Protect Journalists". Cpj.org. http://cpj.org/killed/2011/noramfaizul-mohd.php. Retrieved 2011-09-24. 
  4. ^ "Malaysian cameraman shot dead in Mogadishu, another wounded - Reporters Without Borders". En.rsf.org. http://en.rsf.org/somalia-malaysian-cameraman-shot-dead-in-02-09-2011,40916.html. Retrieved 2011-09-24. 
  5. ^ "Bullet-Proof Vest Would Not Have Saved Noramfaizul - Dr Alwi". Bernama. http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=611469. Retrieved 2011-09-24. 
  6. ^ United Nations Statistics Division. "Environmental Statistics Country Snapshot: Somalia", August 2011
  7. ^ United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. "Horn of Africa Crisis, Situation Report No. 13", September 8, 2011, pages 5-6. (Accessed September 11, 2011)
  8. ^ "Noramfaizul Cheated Death 13 Years Ago, Says Friend". Bernama. 2011-09-03. http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsgeneral.php?id=611396. Retrieved 2011-09-24. 
  9. ^ “Safety Guidelines for Media Practitioners – Subra,” Bernama
  10. ^ a b c http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14771821
  11. ^ "I Cannot Believe My Dear Colleague Is No More". Bernama. http://bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=611350. Retrieved 2011-09-24. 
  12. ^ [1][dead link]
  13. ^ Khairulanuar, Bernama
  14. ^ "Somali govt: We’ll get to the bottom of shooting". Thestar.com.my. http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/9/4/nation/9425481&sec=nation. Retrieved 2011-09-24. 
  15. ^ AU must act after journalist is killed in Somalia (2011-09-05). "AU must act after journalist is killed in Somalia - Committee to Protect Journalists". Cpj.org. http://www.cpj.org/2011/09/au-must-act-after-journalist-is-killed-in-somalia.php. Retrieved 2011-09-24. 
  16. ^ Khairulanuar, Bernama.
  17. ^ "Journalists Killed in Somalia - Committee to Protect Journalists". Cpj.org. http://www.cpj.org/killed/africa/somalia/. Retrieved 2011-09-24. 
  18. ^ RSF. “Malaysian cameraman shot dead in Mogadishu, another wounded.”
  19. ^ "Safety Guidelines For Media Practitioners - Subra". Bernama. 2011-09-07. http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v5/newsgeneral.php?id=612094. Retrieved 2011-09-24. 
  20. ^ http://www.ifj.org/en/articles/malaysian-cameramans-death-reinforces-need-for-safety-protocols
  21. ^ "Noramfaizul A True Professional, Says Bernama Chairman". Bernama. 2011-09-03. http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v5/newsgeneral.php?id=611324. Retrieved 2011-09-24. 
  22. ^ "Noramfaizul a True Professional, Says Bernama Chairman." Bernama.
  23. ^ "'I saw his head slump onto a colleague's shoulder' | Malay Mail Online". Mmail.com.my. 2011-09-05. http://www.mmail.com.my/content/81492-i-saw-his-head-slump-colleagues-shoulder. Retrieved 2011-09-24. 
  24. ^ "Dying for a lollipop". Thestar.com.my. http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/9/11/nation/9469641&sec=nation. Retrieved 2011-09-24. 
  25. ^ "Noramfaizul gets hero's burial". Nst.com.my. 2011-02-03. http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/03bury-2/Article/. Retrieved 2011-09-24. 

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